”A refreshing perspective on what it means to be wealthy” – Don Smith, Kiss the Ground
In the documentary ”Into the Soil” we follow Brigid LeFevre, who runs a community supported agriculture operation (CSO) in Järna, Sweden. In her biodynamic vegetable garden she focuses on fermenting the harvest in order to enrich it with nutritious lactic acid bacteria.
Brigid grew up in an anthroposophically inspired Camphill community in Northern Ireland where volunteers lived and worked together with people with special needs. It was a self-sufficient community where the local store brought in bulk organic produce and each household would write down their purchases – without any actual exchange of money.
Growing up in a place where food was separated from the economic market has had a big impact on Brigid’s philosophy as a farmer. And really, come to think about it, why is it that the global ups and downs of the economy should determine the operating practices of small scale local farms?
In Brigid’s garden it doesn’t. She grows and ferments vegetables for the members, who subscribe to her sauerkraut, kimchi and lacto fermented pickles, all year round. The members support this regenerative agriculture operation with money or hands-on help in the garden.
It’s a local, circular economy, which underpins an alive garden, buzzing and chirping, where the goal isn’t to turn a profit, but rather to make the soil more alive with the passing of each season.
Directed and produced by Mattias Olsson for Campfire Stories. Musical score composed by Arvid Rask. Sound design by Boris Laible and Jonas Källstrand. Financed in part by the Namaste Foundation.